Why Virtual Team Building is Underrated
According to the third edition of McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey, 58 percent of Americans have reported being able to work from home at least one day per week. Thirty-five percent of survey respondents reported having the option to work from home five days a week. And of the people who had the opportunity to work flexibly, 87 percent chose to do so.
The way work is being done has changed dramatically, especially in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. We could write an entire blog post just on the benefits of working remotely, but there are also some downsides to having employees scattered across the US. Remote teams may be more prone to struggling with a lack of structure, distracting home environments, sub-parr “office” culture, communication issues, and more. The good news is that when managers put in the effort to facilitate virtual team building, many of these issues can be diminished.
Why Virtual Team Building Matters
Virtual team building helps coworkers form bonds and develop collective collaboration and communication skills. There are a lot of perks to working remotely, but sometimes motivation and excitement levels can dip when there’s no in person connection happening. With a little bit of effort, remote teams can work together just as effectively as in person teams!
8 Creative Ideas for Virtual Team Building
#1: Create a Random Slack Channel
If your team uses Slack, creating a random Slack channel can be a great way to start fun non-work related conversations. In an office setting, employees may have more time to learn about each other’s lives, chat about their upcoming weekend, and share their favorite recipes. For virtual teams, these kinds of conversations might not fit into scheduled Zoom meetings. A random Slack channel is the perfect place to share miscellaneous items and learn more about what makes each team member tick.
#2: Run a Virtual Scavenger Hunt
A virtual scavenger hunt is a fun team activity that can be used to help team members learn more about one another. You can ask team members to find items and then post photos in your group Slack channel or email thread. Here are some ideas:
Find the one book you’d choose to take with you if you were stranded on an island
Go find the most retro item in your house
Pull up your favorite meme
Locate your most prized possession
#3: Have a Photo Contest
Photo contests are great for boosting creativity. Give your team a list of the photos they’ll need to take or find. Once they’ve all been posted in Slack or sent in an email thread, the whole team can vote on which photo wins for each category. If you want to step it up a level, send the winner a small prize or gift card!
Here are some fun examples:
Baby pictures
Travel pictures
Best silly desk selfie
Photo from the most creative lunch break
#4: Send E-Cards
Teams that work together in-office may be more likely to celebrate employees' birthdays, work anniversaries, or life milestones. It’s a lot easier to bring a cake into an office than to send a slice of cake to every team member’s individual house. Sending an e-card is an easy way to celebrate individual team members—every employee can virtually sign the card, and the management team can decide whether or not to send a gift card along with it. Sometimes small gestures like this can make all the difference.
#5: Virtual Escape Room
Virtual escape rooms are a fun way to boost a team’s problem-solving skills. Team members work together to remotely escape a room, racing against the clock. There are a lot of companies that offer virtual escape room experiences:
#6: Surprise Gifts
Sending surprise gifts is a great way to boost spirits and learn about everyone on the team. Here’s how it works:
Ask everyone on the team to list a few of their favorite things or hobbies
Do a virtual name draw
Everyone gets a $20 gift card sent via email to "Boo" someone or "Santa Surprise" someone (depending on the holiday)
Gifts can be ordered online and sent directly to the recipients house
The whole team meets for a virtual unwrapping party and tries to guess who sent their gift
#7: Virtual Fitness Class
improve the team’s physical and mental health and foster team bonding. Ideas include:
Dance class
Yoga class
Stretching
Barre
#8: Volunteer Day
Everyone volunteers for the day in their own home town and then shares pictures about it later. A Zoom meeting could also be held to talk about everyone’s day in more detail. Team members get to learn about their coworkers' passions and values, which could help foster deeper levels of understanding and compassion.